...and I suppose the figures for the average Dutch woman are pretty much the same. Or are they? db2305, what do you think? You and I both have more than 4 new pairs of shoes a year, but can we be taken as representative examples of the Dutch shoe buying public?

There's an exhibition opening in Dusseldorf this week, centering on 'the shoe as art form, the shoe as sculpture' -- hundreds of beautiful shoes in glass cages, tastefully lit and displayed to their best advantage...I wish I wasn't so broke and I could go. I wonder if they'll do a catalogue? Must watch out for it...

Only 3 more weeks before I fly out to London! And love_by_137's promised to come shopping with me! From what I've seen in the new shoe collections online, I think we'll have to include Office and Poste Mistress in our search.

Hmmm...I see Topshop do quite an acceptable version of a cage-nosed shoe, at a more than reasonable price...

You may wonder why, if I see shoes I like on the Internet, I don't buy them online? I'm afraid I think it's too much hassle. Unless you try on a shoe, you'll never know if it fits. You don't know how the leather feels, or if there's any part that cuts or pinches your foot. Or if the colour's exactly as shown on screen. So supposing you've waited a week (or two) for your shoes to be delivered and you find any of these defects, then you'll have to go through the hassle of sending them back and getting your money back, and ending up with no shoes at all -- all things considered, I'd much rather wait until I get to London (or New York, have you seen the Anthropologie website?) and can have a wander through the shops behind the URLs myself.